The Magician Audiobook By W. Somerset Maugham cover art

The Magician

Preview
Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Magician

By: W. Somerset Maugham
Narrated by: James Adams
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.58

Buy for $14.58

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

From one of literature’s finest storytellers comes an enchanting tale of secrets, the supernatural - and fatal attraction.

Renowned English surgeon Arthur Burdon is engaged to the beautiful Margaret Dauncey, who is studying art in Paris. The match is met with approval from all sides, and everyone is happy - until the mysterious Oliver Haddo enters the picture. Both Arthur and his fiancée dislike the enormously fat and eccentric Oliver but are fascinated by his stories of black magic, by his demonstrations of a power that seems inhuman. And while they scoff at his boasts, their dislike turns to loathing.

A month later, Margaret disappears. The note she leaves behind begins: “When you receive this, I shall be on my way to London. I was married to Oliver Haddo this morning.” Why? How? What mysterious power had the Magician used? What further revenge might he be plotting? The answers are revealed in this hair-raising fantasy.

About the author: William Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) was born in Paris and grew up in England. He studied medicine before turning to writing and becoming one of the 20th century’s most popular novelists as well as a celebrated playwright, critic, and short-story writer.

Public Domain (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Classics Linguistics Social Sciences England
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_T1_webcro805_stickypopup

Critic reviews

“Maugham tells his tale of the weird and the horrible with simple sincerity and a constant matching of the unhallowed practices with the clean, sweet things of common life that make its effect uncommonly impressive.” ( The New York Times)
All stars
Most relevant  
The reading, for me at least, is good but you have to get past the ludicrous Monty Pythonesque French accent. I actually thought it was funny and more importantly totally APPROPRIATE for the character it went with!

The story is good and the performance is…

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

WSM Architypes written against a backdrop of occultism is as hard to resist as ot seems. A+

WSM Architypes Against Occultism Backdrop

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

For some reason, the title character, who is British, is given an absurd French accent and sounds like the French waiter in Monty Python's "Meaning of Life."

Great book, misguided performance

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.